McGregor Supports an ICO- Here is Everything You Need to Know

Initial coin offerings were so huge in 2017 that they captured the imagination of not only cryptocurrency investors but also alarmed governments all over the world. While billions were raised to fund this or that ICO project, something else crept into the limelight: celebrities. A whole lot of them joined in, not content to be left out of the frenzy.

Celebrities such as TV personality and heiress, Paris Hilton, entertainers like Jamie Foxx; musicians like the Game and DjKhaled; superstar footballers like Leo Messi and Luis Suarez all promoted ICOs. All of these crowd pullers had something to say about cryptocurrency, especially ICOs.

If you were keen, then you know that perhaps the most anticipated fight of 2017 was between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and MMA champion Conor McGregor. It is precisely in the context of that fight that McGregor would have supported an ICO. But he didn’t.

In fact, he could have seized on the opportunity to get more money than what his opponent Mayweather did. But McGregor wasn’t into ICOs then, at least none that we knew of. Yet, 2018 is turning out to be a different story altogether. For this athlete that many absolutely love (include me in that loyal fan base), a post on Twitter or Facebook can easily reach millions of viewers. And that is just how it is; celebrities and followers.

So which ICO does Conor McGregor support?

Think “Burger King”

If you can’t figure it still, worry not. I am going to tell you which ICO the Mixed Martial Arts and UFC champion supports. However, before that happens, let me put this into context. When I am done, we will all be reading from the same script.

At around the same time celebrities were being bitten by the inevitable ICO-bug, governments started taking notice of what was going on. We must be honest here. Not all ICOs are genuine blockchain projects. Some are just fronts by “smart conmen” intent on defrauding the unsuspecting public.

In fact, several of initial coin offerings launched in 2017 have so far failed to take off or have faded into obscurity. So when China took that bold step to ban all ICO-related activities, everybody else woke up to the reality of what was going down in crypto land. Suddenly, regulation became a possibility and the tempo slightly slowed down. The U.S also warned celebrities against endorsing initial coin offerings, especially if they were to earn from it. Facebook then banned all cryptocurrency related adverts and just this month, Google did the same. But all these efforts have just slowed token offerings. Remember there is a difference between slowing down and stopping.

Initial coin offerings haven’t stopped at all. If anything, 2018 has already seen one of the biggest ICOs of all time. I am talking of Telegram’s Initial Coin Offering that raised $850 in its presale. So, it easy to see that startups and companies alike are still looking at token sales as funding methods for cryptocurrency projects.

WhopperCoin

The WhopperCoin is a cryptocurrency token by Burger King. It will be used to reward customers whenever they use a given amount of money to buy their favorite burger.

McGregor promoted the coin on his Facebook page by referencing his recent fights. He told his supports via the paid ad to forget about people like Floyd or Nate. He allegedly had found a worthy contender. Read his full post here.

That ad was in reference to Burger King. McGregor’s FB post, complete with a video of the crispy chicken fry, doesn’t mention any coin. Well, that’s probably right or a bit clever. But Burger King did launch its own Cryptocurrency in Russia towards the end of 2017.

And then, on 5 March 2018 McGregor’s FB page had an encrypted message about WhopperCoin. Admittedly, that post has nothing on any ICO. But you don’t have to know rocket science to understand the significance it could have.

Outlets in Russia were to offer customers a reward in the form of its own cryptocurrency.

How does it work? To begin with, there are 1 billion WhopperCoins, all pre-created and to be distributed to customers. So, a customer buys their favorite Burger King from a store and in return, they are awarded one blockchain-based token. In the end, a customer can redeem the tokens, getting themselves a free burger while at it.

To facilitate the WhopperCoin tokens, Burger King used the Waves platform. Though the program was launched in Russia, crypto assets are borderless and, therefore, can be used anywhere. The same report also indicated that the company would roll out iOS and Android Apps to facilitate the transactions.

That was in 2017. Incidentally, McGregor had his fight with Floyd at a time when the undefeated boxing champion was deeply involved with ICOs. Prior to their historic bout, Mayweather had helped to hype Stox.io and Hubii Coin. Now in 2018, McGregor tells us to forget the rest. He found something that’s going to bring the heat. We should summarize it as this: Burger King is WhopperCoin; if Conor supports Burger King, he supports WhopperCoin.

Don’t look at it through tinted glass. The truth is, no one should really fault the post. It’s a clear message to his followers- eat more burgers and get crypto coins. At the time of writing, the paid post had been viewed by 1.3 million people. Not bad at all, if you ask me.

Your opinion matters

Expressing an opinion about something doesn’t mean that we buy the idea. And again, nothing bars us (celebrities included) from being supportive of a cause. It’s along these lines that we ask: “Do you think McGregor supports WhopperCoin?” Have a look at his Facebook page and let’s know what you think. While you are at it, grab yourself some crispy chicken burger.